Process of making a rubberlike material



Patented Nov. 14; 1922;

UNITED STATES JOHN C. WICHMANN, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

raocnss or MAKING A RUBBERLIKE MATERIAL.

No Drawing.

To all'whom it may concern Be it known that I, J OHNC'. WIOHMANN, a cltizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Processes of Making a Rubberlike Material, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relatesto a process of making a rubber-like material and it is an object of this invention to treat the Yucca plant in a manner to form a product which in its physical characteristics is similar to the Para rubber of commerce.

In my 'U. S. patent application for a process of making rubber-like material, dated May 24, 1921, No. 1,37 9,150, I have described a process of making a rubber-like material from the Yucca plant in which the Yucca plant is macerated and heated in a closed vessel with live steam offorty to fifty pounds pressure for abouthalf an hour. The gummy and resinous juice is extracted from the cooked pulp and is treated with various catalyzers and reagents to produce the rubber-like material.

I have discovered that the resinous matter present in the Yucca juice is detrimental to the final rubber-like product, and the present invention has for its object to treat the Yucca juice .so as to eliminate the resinous substance, leaving the gummy matter, which is afterwards treated to produce the rubberlike product.

My invention consists in the steps of the process hereinafter 'describedand claimed.

The Yucca plant, inclusive of the roots, but discarding the leaves, is cut into pieces five to six inches long, and placed in a closed retort and heated. The heat should be ap;

plied gently at first in order to expel any air present and thus to prevent an explosion.

The'heat is gradually raised to'525 to'550? F- and all the volatile matter is expelled,- leaving a carbonaceous black massin the retort. The vapors and gases are? conducted from the retort to a'condenser and the distillate is drawn off and re-distilled at a temperature of 2569'F., which will expel all the matter volatile atathis temperature, inclu sive of the resinous substances, leaving only the gummy material behind, Which is of the color and consistency of vbrown molasses. The residual gummy substances obtained as just described are placed in a retort and the Application filed April 23,

1921. Serial No. 463,860.

following re-agents are added thereto, calculated for fifty pounds of gummy material:

10 lbs. powderedsulfur. 5 lbs. powdered pumice stone. 5 lbs. powdered'magnesium oxide. 20 lbs. asphaltum. I 5 lbs. Para gum dissolved in turpentine. 2 lbs. boiled linseed oil. 2% lbs. carbon bisulfide.

lb. zinc oxide. The mixture is heated at a temperature of 255 to 260 F. for one hour. The mixture becomes molten in about fifteen minutes and is a itated during the heating process by suita le mechanism, and is then poured into flat bottom pans and allowed to oxidize and.

The temperature of the mass in the harden.

pans is kept preferably from 150 F. to 180 i F., until the composition has solidified. The

resulting rubber-like product resembles Para gum in Its physical characteristics :and may be used as such,- or blended therewith.

Thesulfur acts as a vulcanizing agent and the asphaltum as a binder, the Para 'gum as a catalyzer, and none of them can be dis-' pensed' with in the process ofmaking the vided the other isincreased by a corresponding amount. The boiled linseed oil and the zinc oxide servelas catalyzers, and the carbon bisulfide actsv as a solvent of; the mixture and isfinally eliminated by evaporation.

product on of a superior final product.

Various changes n the steps of the: process and in the proportions of the ingredients may be madebythose skilledin the art with- 'ou't'departing from p the spirit of my'invention as claimed.

I claim:

'1. A; process of making a rubber-like sub- I stance, comprising heating" the fleshy parts of the Yucca lant in a closed chamber to -'-distil the volatile-matter, condensing the dis:

pensed with or diminished in quantity, pro- 1 ,Thelinse'ed oiland zinc oxide are not absolutely necessary, although I prefer to use them for the reason that they facilitate the carrying on of the process and assist in the tilled volatile matter, heating; the condensed I volatile matter to a temperature sufiicient to distil off the resinous substances but leaV- ing the ummy material-behind, addingsulfur, asp altum and Para gum in solution to the gummy material, heating the mixture to melt the ingredients and form a homogeneous mass, and result-mg mass. 2. A process drying and oxidizing the of making a rubber-like substance, comprising heating the fleshy parts of'the Yucca plant in a closed chamber to distil the volatile matter, condensing the distilled volatile matter, heating the condensed volatile matter to a temperature suflicient to distil ofl' the resinous substances but leaving the gummy material behind, adding sulfur, pumice stone, magnesium oxide, asphaltum and Para gum in solution to the gummy material, heating the mixture to melt the in gredients and form a homogeneous mass, and drying and oxidizing the resulting mass.

3. A process of making a rubber-like substance, comprising heating the fleshy parts of the Yucca plant in a closed chamber to; distil the volatile matter, condensing the dis-1' tilled volatile matter, heating the condensed a closed chamber to messes volatile matter to a temperature suflicient to distil off the resinous substances but leaving the gummy material behind, adding sulfur, pumice stone, magnesium oxide, boiled linseed oil, zinc oxide, carbon bisulfide, asphal tum and Para gum in solution to the gummy material, heating the mixtureto melt the ingredients and form a homogeneous mass, and drying and oxidizing the resulting mass.

5. A process of making a rubber-like sub. stance as set forth in claim 1, limiting the temperature at which the resinous substances are distilled off to 256? F.

6. A process of making a rubber-like substance as set forth in claim 5, limiting the temperature at which the mixture is molten and made homogeneous to 255 to 260 F.

7. A process of making a rubber-like substance, comprisingvheating the fleshy parts of the Yucca plant in a closed chamber to distil the volatile matter therefrom, condensing the volatile matter, heating the volatile matter toa temperature of 256 F. to distil the resinous substances, but leaving the gummy substances behind, adding the following reagents, calculated for fifty pounds of gummy material: pounds poW- dered sulfur, 5 pounds powdered pumice stone, 5 ounds powdered magnesium oxide, poun s 'asphaltum, 5 pounds Para g'um dissolved in turpentine, 2 pounds boiled linseed oil, 2 pounds carbon bisulfide and 9;

pound zinc oxide, heating the resulting mixture to a temperature of 260 F. and drying and oxidizing the resulting product.

In testimony whereof l have signed my name to this specification.

JOHN C. WICHMANN. 

